With recent developments in the telecommunications industry, customers are not only expecting basic telephony services (such as reliable voice connectivity from one point to another), but also expect to receive a number of augmented services. In particular, customers expect to have access to services such as voice mail, call forwarding, three-way calling and Caller Line ID (CLID) information announcements. By virtue of the CLID information announcement feature, customers can obtain information about a calling party before actually accepting a call. Generally, information about the calling party can comprise a telephone number of the calling party and/or a name of the calling party that is registered in association with the telephone number of the calling party. Obtaining CLID information prior to answering the call allows customers to make a decision how to treat the call, such as whether to answer or ignore the call. This service is particularly suitable for call screening, for instance screening calls from unknown or blacklisted parties.
Several types of devices for announcing CLID information are known in the art. A first type of device is incorporated into a telephone set (whether wired or cordless), referred to herein below as a built-in device. Another type of device is a stand-alone device connected in-line between the telephone set and the telephone jack. Such stand-alone devices allow users of telephone sets that do not have the aforementioned built-in devices to nonetheless enjoy the benefits of CLID information announcement. Both types of devices are operable to extract CLID information from received SS7 network signalling information and to process this information to announce the CLID information to the user (typically by means of a display). Some stand-alone devices can display the CLID information on a television screen, allowing the viewers to see who is calling while they are watching the television.
Users who would like to receive CLID information announcement on the television screen while watching a particular program on their television screen find the aforementioned solutions unsatisfactory. In a specific case where the telephony link to the user's telephone is busy (for instance, when the user or someone else in the user's household is using the phone), and a second call destined for the user's telephone is originated, the user may not receive an announcement of the second incoming call on his or her television screen.
Thus, improvements in the convenience with which users may get CLID information announcement on their television screen would be welcomed.